Dilip Cherian Blog

Cherian's Choice

Babu watchers expect a reshuffle at the top level in the Finance Ministry in the coming weeks. It has been necessitated after G.C. Murmu, who headed the Department of Expenditure in the ministry, was appointed the first Lt Governor of Jammu & Kashmir after it became a union territory. Further, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar is scheduled to retire in February next year, followed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty in April. Sources say that though Revenue Secretary A.B.P. Pandey is slated to stay in the post until February 2021, the grapevine suggests that the Modi sarkar may turf him out to some other department. The reasoning, it is indicated, is that the government is unhappy about vital numbers of the economy slipping steadily. If the buzz indeed turns out to true, we can expect a fresh set of faces in the Finance Ministry to steer the economy.